Can A Scat Be In The Same Tank As A Cichlid?

[tjkubiak]

My boyfriend and I just recently purchased a 55gallon tank and had it stocked with a variety of fish. Unfortunately, we got a terrible case of ick and lost almost all of our fish. We are leaning towards restocking the tank with only a few larger fish, preferrably cichlids. We also have a 10 gallon tank that we were going to put the last few survivors in with the exception of our Scat. He has started to get very aggressive and really terrorizes the other fish. I have been doing a lot of research and have found a lot of conflicting information on whether the Scat could be in the tank with the Cichlids. I'm aware of the water and salt issues with the Scat being a brackishfish but my main inquiry is will they get along? Some sites say yes while others say no. Some sites say if you put more than one Scat in the tank it will help it not be agressive while others say the opposite. Has anyone had any experience with this? Does the "type" of cichlid make a difference?

 

[onidrase]

I wouldn't do it simply because of the brackish water issue with the scat. There are tons of different kinds of cichlids, large or small, meek or aggressive, we'd need more specific cichlids in terms of whether or not they'd get along.

 

[nmonks]

Scats do very well with brackish water cichlids, particularly Green Chromides. Maintain these together at around SG 1.005-1.010, provide plenty of space and a greens-based diet and you won't have any trouble. Scats aren't normally aggressive but they are active, social, always hungry, and very pushy. So you wouldn't keep them with anything too small or too shy, and keeping a singleton is asking for trouble if the Scat gets bored. Green Chromides are similar in size (around 30 cm/12 inches when fully grown) and hold their own just fine. It also helps that Green Chromides are schooling fish, so if you keep a school of them with a small group of Scats, you'll find they generally keep to themselves.

On the other hand, you cannot keep Scats with freshwater cichlids. Scats must be kept in either a brackish or marine aquarium.

Scats mix well with Monos and Archerfish, and together they make a classic community. You'll need a big tank though.

Cheers, Neale